David Bowie, Beat Poetry and Human Evolution

The Poet makes himself a seer by a long, gigantic and rational derangement of all the senses.

- Arthur Rimbaud, 1871

David Bowie, né Jones, was a unique artistic and cultural force who defied “normal”…

Transforming Evidence-Based Policy from Theory to Practice

State Finance, Partisan Control and Citizen Outcomes: What’s the Connection?

Two Data Science Visual Aids

Data science is challenging many organizations to upgrade their IT infrastructures, and this can be a painful and confusing process. After many consultations this year around different data challenges at both corporate and social purpose organizations, I drew the chart below to…

Information Overload

As my work has shifted more heavily into food and agriculture over the last few years, the sheer amount of information available for any given subtopic continues to amaze and overwhelm me. As I’ve been struggling to grok all the datums and the bytes, I found the XKCD article and recent mini…

Shankur Vendantem on Motivated Cognition

Author and NPR Social Science Correspondent Shankur Vendantem has an interesting perspective on the cognitive neurological basis for “motivated reasoning.” This process the brain uses to filter and order information efficiently could also be driving less…